A Flowering Tree

Every spring as we drive to church I have noticed this lovely, lonely tree flowering in a field bordered by forest.  It's the only fruit tree in sight.  This year I decided we might just take some pictures of it.  Such a brave beauty.

It's on farmland along Hwy 1 south of Carmel and north of Big Sur.  It's so nice that it hasn't been paved over and we hope it stays that way for some time to come.

The fields are full of wildflowers.  I remember at one time there were artichokes in these fields. I've heard that the padres brought the mustard to California.  The Carmel Mission isn't far from this farm.  Father Serra is entombed at the mission.

The tractor hasn't been busy for awhile.

 

There's even a nest inside the engine.  Nothing goes to waste.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Saturday in Wine Country

Saturday afternoon v and I took a photo drive along River Road and the heart of the Salinas Valley wine country.  When I first moved to this area the fields were either full of the vegetables we put in salads or vast expanses of grass for cattle.  Now there are vines as far as the eye can see, sometimes.  Coming from Southern California where the fields have mostly been filled with concrete, asphalt, and matching houses as far as the eye can see, I'm so very pleased that agriculture still rules up here.

This lonely Victorian stands sentinel over pinot and syrah grapes.  Topping the rise with skeletal openings that once reflected candle and gaslight glow from within.

Side roads are planted with windbreaks of majestic trees casting dappled shade in the late afternoon.

We started out in a quest for fields of lupin.  We didn't find any along this route, but there were other wildflowers blooming.  I don't know what they are and would love it if someone reading this could identify them for me.

Barns are also on my list for photo capture, and there are several along the road and slightly off road.  We only captured a couple on Saturday, but plan to return soon.

We come across farmsteads neatly maintained yet uninhabited.  A mystery...

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Happy Easter

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Early Mist and Lupine

My apples are in bloom! Apple pie, baked apples, applesauce in October.  That is if the neighbors and passers by leave any for us!

I headed out really early this morning while v stayed behind in his blanket cocoon.  The lupin is in bloom along the Monterey-Salinas Highway and I wanted early shots.  It was very wet and misty, but beautiful. And I wasn't alone...

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Marmalade and Mendocino

A marmalade morning here at our house.  While we were in Mendocino we walked through the old wooden framed screen door of the Mendocino Jams and Preserves Shop and found ourselves in what felt like a corner of a well stocked pantry and kitchen.  The shop is at the end of the walk so she has sunlight from sunrise to nearly setting and sea breezes from two directions.  Like many of the shops along Main Street, this was once a small house.  I asked the owner how long she's been in business here. 38 years. The house was converted to one large display and sales room in front and a smaller room in back for the canning.

Along our drive up the coast we saw much evidence of how badly these remote, secluded communities of this Northern California coast have fared in this depression we've been in since '08. We haven't ventured further north than San Francisco since before the crash, having our own economic downturn.  Although the news is full of recovery announcements, we didn't see much evidence of that in towns like Gualala and Point Arena, or even Bodega Bay.  They've changed and many of the businesses and places we'd patronized and stayed at have shuttered windows and doors. In some places it appears the entire population has recycled. Gone are the old hippies that used to hang out on the sidewalks and doorways looking colorful and slightly menacing. Small places like Olema and Point Arena don't seem quite as arrogant in their insularity.

Mendocino seems to be holding itself together.  The community has a history of banding together for the protection and preservation of the village.  Through their efforts back in the sixties and seventies the town, or village, of Mendocino was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.  In 1972 Proposition 20, the Coastal Zone Conservation Act was passed.  This act protected the coastal zone environment and maximized public access to the coast.  At the same time the State Department of Parks and Recreation acquired the land for the Mendocino Headlands State Park.  The town is also designated as a Historic Preservation District of Mendocino County.  The folks living in Mendocino have strict preservation rules, but they have a community that is sustaining. We talked with one resident who told us of some members of the community who wanted to put even tougher restrictions on life in town: they wanted to ban cell phones from within the town limits.  They're not banned, but we had a "no service" message on our phones the entire time we were there.  It was land lines if a call needed to be made.

I'm thinking of giving the Jam & Preserve shop a call to inquire on whether she's taking on apprentices.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Knitting Break

I've had a long hiatus from knitting.  Recently, however, I felt a couple of small projects wouldn't break the bank. So I started a hat for v (just in case). The yarn is such a vibrant red which he chose, to my delight, and the wool is so very soft and comforting just to knit.

This is a little project for me. I've wanted to try this pattern for a long time (from Madder at Swatch Diaries--see link).  The yarn is from Quince & Co.  It is American wool from this little American company in Maine (also see link).

Then, out of the blue, I received an email telling me that our local yarn shop has been sold and the owner is liquidating stock at really terrific discounts so....

v is getting a new cardigan from some sumptuous wool from Uruguay: Manos del Uruguay.

Just to let you know how the weather is here on the Central Coast.  As I  looked through all the gorgeous skeins of yarn to choose from I kept saying this, or that, would make a wonderfully warm sweater for the summer.  Where I come from, honey, that would be unheard of!  But here, it feels like July is far colder than February sometimes with our wet, dark fogs that roll in for days on end.

I'll be having some more shots from our recent get away soon, but I just had to take a knitting break.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

The Sun, the Sand, and the Sea

A favorite stop along the coast highway, north, is Bodega Bay.  I especially love the area just north of the harbor.  It's a vast beautiful beach.  This is where v and I look out and really feel we are at the end of the earth.  There's also something quite eerie in the atmosphere of this place.  It isn't enough to scare me, but I'm glad to have his company ever so much more.

The sun was just at the right angle as we pulled off the highway to stretch and take some pictures.

Hitchcock filmed The Birds in Bodega Bay and the nearby community of Bodega.  I'm sure I've mentioned that I'm a huge Hitchcock fan.

The sun, the sand, and the sea.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v